An Active Approach to Wellness

For four years, Dr. Vincent Jong has been bringing wholistic healing to a primarily expatriate clientele at New York Wholistic Care in Itaewon. Of course, if you live in Itaewon this has been great, but for those in the downtown area it could be a pain-in-the-neck—just the sort of thing for a chiropractor, actually—to get to Itaewon on a busy Seoulite’s schedule. Until now, that is.

With a new clinic in the Gyeonghuigung-ui Achim building, just behind the landmark Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, Jong and his team bring their healing skills to Seoul’s historic downtown. “I’ve been running up and down between the two clinics,” says Jong, whose clinic offers a wide range of treatments, including chiropractic (active release technique and Graston technique), aroma therapy, posture rehabilitation, iridology, and the ever-popular Pilates. The new Gwanghwamun branch has two therapy rooms and three Pilates studios.

Passive vs. active care

New York Wholistic Care is targeted toward self-management of one’s health. Jong notes that maintaining wellness “is like learning how to eat or brush your teeth.” What this requires is active care. “Passive care is needed when you have some condition,” explains Jong, who has a decade’s worth of experience as a chiropractor, mostly in New York. His mission, he says, is to keep you out of his office. “The goal of this office is not for you to keep coming to this clinic forever,” he explains, “but to teach you how to take care of your own body through various methods like exercise, massage, and stretching. And with so many things out there nowadays, to teach you what you need and don’t need.”

A healthy balance…and Pilates

As the name of his clinic suggests, Jong practices “wholistic” care. “We look at the body as a whole,” he elaborates. “You might have neck pain, but you also have knee pain. Your neck pain could be because you are limping, causing lower back pain.”

Being healthy requires a balance of three things, says Jong. The first is structure—bones, muscles, tendons, and the like need to be in proper working order. You need to have a proper chemical balance—this can be corrected through supplements in the case of disorder. Finally, there is the psychological aspect: what you are thinking can affect your body.

New York Wholistic tries to address all these aspects of health, but Pilates is a good place to start. One of New York Wholistic Care’s most popular programs, Pilates—originally created to help rehabilitate wounded soldiers after World War I—uses your body’s own weight to exercise, all thanks to spring resistance. The clinic uses state-of-the-art V2 Max Plus “Reformers” as its main equipment. Says Jong, “You can hardly stress yourself doing Pilates. In this, it differs from fixed-weight training.”

More Information

The center is becoming increasingly popular, so walk-ins are not always available.
It is better to make an appointment.
Visit the website for more details:
www.nywholisticcare.com.
T. (02) 792-2296 (Itaewon branch), (02) 730-9896 (new Gwanghwamun branch)

Getting There Itaewon Station, Line 6, Exit 3. The center is above the Hyundai dealership.
For the Gwangwhamun clinic: Gyeongbokgung Station, Line 3, Exit 6. The clinic is located on the fourth floor of the Gyeonghuigung-ui Achim building.